Facing machine



April 25, 1933.

H. A. GREENHOLT FAC ING MACHINE Filed Aug. 16 1926 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 25, 1933 .Uni-fran STATES PATENT 4*lorries .y f

Y HARRY A. GREENHOLT, or CHICAGO, rumors, 'Assrenoa "ro NATIONALrIscUIr machine as shown i-n- Fig. l;

COMPANY, or NEW YORK, n. Y., A CORPORATION or New JERSEY racine naci-ams Application filed August 16, 1926. Serial'No. 129,388.

'lhis invention relates to a facing machine of improved construction.

lVhile the invention may be utilized 1n numerous different associations, it is intended primarily to be employed in connection with the baking industry, and when` so used, will accurately, rapidly and economically face crackers or cookies. having dissimilar opposite faces and arrange the same in row formation- By means of the present invention a machine is provided which will occupy a relatively small amount of space, the parts of which will be relatively few iny number and simple in construction and which may be readily assembled to provide a machine op-v erating eiiiciently over long periods of time, with freedom from mechanical dificulty, and in which the' partsmay be adjusted to` permit the machine toface and arrange different sizes and sliapesof articles.

Other objects ofthe invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear.herein. after..

`The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of ele-l ments and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and thescope of the application4 of which will be indicated' in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a partly fragmentary sectional sid-e view of one form of machine embodying the` improved construction of the present invention';

Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse sectional views taken along thel linesz2e2 and 3-3 of Fig. 1 and in the direction of the arrows indicated in that ligure; Y l Y Fig. 4 is an enlarged rear end view of the Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic perspective View of a portion of aroller-supportedV belt; and Fig. 6 is a sectional View of the mechanism shown in Fig. 5.l l In these several views the numeral 10 indicates a plate or deck providing a support, and the forward and rear edges of Which, if desired, may be extended downwardly vas at 11.

Rollers 12 and 13 are mounted upon, shafts 14k adjacent the jforward-andrear ends of the deck and have the uppermost, portion of their r peripheries extending into the'plane of, the upper deck level. Passing around these roll-` ers and over the upper face ofthe deck isa facing conveyor, preferably, and as exemplified, comprising a pair of adjacently disposed belts 15 of any suitable material; and tension;- ing rollers 16 may be providedbelow the deck `in order to maintain the-bodies of the belts length to provide end portions lying substa-ntially parallel to the plane: of the deck and central portions extending ata material angle thereto, for example, degrees, as shown. Supporting members 18 a-re aiixed to the rear faces of these plates and .have their lower ends pivotally secured 'asat `19f to brackets 20 which latter are adjustable transversely with respect to the deck by means of bOlYt-aHd-slot connections 21. At this time it will be unl derstood that the tilting-plates 17 preferably are formed of relatively thin 'stock and aresuliiciently flexible for the arms 18 to be swung to kvary the angular relationship of the plates with respect tothe deck without interfering with the parallel dispositiony 4of the plate ends with respect to such deck. As will be seen, the plates are arranged in pairs, and pairs of beltsV bearagainst the opposed' faces thereof. It is obvious 'thatdue tothe' adjustmentV provided by the "boltand-sl'ot connections 21 the distance between the belts may be varied to accommodate difl'erentvsizes of articles; it being understood, however, that at thepointof maximum tilting theffinner lower edges of the pair of belts in each instance preferably eachother.

are immediately adjacent lo f dierent types of machines.

In the form of machine shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the plates 17 and associated structures are dispensed with, spaced rollers 22 being substituted therefor, these rollers efficiently supporting the belts in proper angular relationship with respect to the deck. The rollers are mounted by utilizing brackets 23, between the arms of which shafts 24 are yieldingly supported as at 25, a roller being carried by each of these shafts. Adjustable mounting member 26 similar to the mounting members 2O are secured to the deck, and these mounting members as at 27 pivotally support the brackets. The angle between the belts and deck 10 increases gradually from zero degrees at the entrance end for about twothirds of the length of the deck, where it reaches a maximum, which, as exemplied, is approximately eighty degrees, and then decreases to Zero degrees again where the belts lie inthe plane of the deck. Conversely the angle betweenl adjacent belts of a pair is a maximum of 180 at each end of their upper surfaces, in the exemplified apparatus, and a minimum of approximately 20o at the point of maximum tilt. These angles, of course, are variable, and adjustment of the same may be suitably accomplished as by the adjustment of supports 18 or 22.` In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the tilting plates 17, which extend substantially the full length of the deck, together with the belts 15, form in the upper run of the belts aAV or trough-shaped section, the belts 15 being driven by the driving roller 12 to carry the articles along the trough. In the modified form shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the supportingrollers 22 and belts 15 cooperate to form in the upper run of the belts the V-shaped trough section along which the belts, driven from the roller 12, carry the articles.

It will be appreciated that a machine of this nature, when utilized by the baking industry, maybe placed to the rear of one of In the present exemplification a hopper 28 has been shown, from which the articles are discharged ont-o a conveyor 29, upon which they lie promiscuously with different faces of adjacent articles uppermost. The conveyor 29 discharges onto the series of belts 15, and the latter may be driven in any suitable manner, as, for example, at 30, to have a rate of travel corresponding to the speed of 'movement of the conveyor 29. The crackers or other articles will enter the troughs or grooves provided by the twocooperating belts'of each pair, and thus these articles Will be disposed in row formation. Incident to the increasingly greater inclination of any given area of the belt bodies as the latter traverse the length of the deck, the crackers will assume an increasingly perpendicular position iny their passage lengthwise ofthe machine, andy the :inclination of the articles will be continued until they pass the point of maximum inclination of the belts, subsequently to which they will again gradually assume a position at which their bodies extend in a plane parallel to the face of the deck. At this point they are lowermost will maintain their positions throughout the entire travel through the ma-v chine. I-Iowever, considering the passage of an article which lies with its convex face or beveled edge portions downwardly, it will be appreciated-that this article initially will be inclined with its body resting upon one belt andits lower edge in contact with'th'e adjacent belt of apair. As the angularity` between the pair of belts decreases, the lastnamed belt will exert pressure upon the cracker edge, while the first named belt will exert pressure upon the rounded face of the cracker at some distance inwardly from its edge, which produces a turning moment or couple to tilt the cracker about the edge that is in contact with the second named belt, resulting in a major portion of the body thereof being moved out of contact With-the face of the first belt, and the continued movement of the parts will result in the article being tilted by cooperation with the belts until it moves through a plane perpendicular to the plane of the deck, and finally, beyond the same, whereupon it will rest with its flat face against the second bel-t, as clearly shown 'in Figs. 2 and 3. Thus, the belts continuing to move, the article which was disposed upon the surface provided by the belts with its -Hat face uppermost, at the rear end of the machine will have its flat face extending downwardly so that all articles at this point, in addition to being disposed in row formation, will be faced similarly with virtually no likelihood of accidentals.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the objects of this invention have beenk accomplished, and since certain changes may be made in the above construction, and different embodiments of the invention'could be made, without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shownin the accompanying drawing shall be inter-V preted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. I

It is also to be understood that the following claimsare intended to cover` all-'of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statementsof 1,90 mico the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A facing machine for an article having a substantially fiat face and sharp edge on one side and a receding edge on the other side, including a pair of driven belts having adj acent edges spaced apart less than the thickness of the articles being faced, guide means for said belts intermediate their ends disposed to tilt opposed portions of said belts to form a V of suliicient acuteness that one side of the V will exert pressure on the sharp edge of the article being faced and the other side of the V will exert pressure on the receding side of the article inward from its extreme edge, whereby a turning moment will be produced to turn the flat face ofk the article against one of the belts.

2. A facing machine for articles having sharp edges on one side and rounded edges on the other side comprising a conveyor having a part of its run displaced to provide a V trough shaped section, the slope of the sides of the trough increasing from each end toward the center to provide a V Vof suiiicient acuteness that one side of the trough will exert pressure on the edge of the article and the opposite side will exert pressure on the rounded side of the article distant from the edge, whereby to produce a turning moment to tilt the iat side of the article against one side of the trough, means for supplying articles to one end of the trough, and means to cause travel of the conveyor to move the articles along the trough.

3. A facing machine for articles having a substantially flat face and having recedingedge portions, including a pair of driven belts having one edge of each adjacent the other and having their faces approximately horizontal at the beginning of-their upper traverse, and guide means for said belts disposed to cause opposed unit surfaces of the belts to form an acute angle and subsequently to assume an increasing angle, with respect to each other during said upper traverse as the belts are driven, said belts being adapted when they are at a minimum angle to grip the edges of articles carried thereby to tilt and face such articles as are carried flat face upward on either of said belts.

4. A facing machine for articles having a substantially flat face on one side and a receding edge on theother side including a deck, a pair of driven belts arranged with their upper traverses above said deck and adjacent thereto, the space between the adjacent edges of said belts being less than the thickness of the articles being faced, guide means for said upper traverses disposed to tilt the belts toward each other t0 suticient. acuteness causethemto assume a decreasing angle,with respect; to each other including an angle of that the belts near their adjacent edges will exert pressure indifferent planes on the articles to be faced and cause their flat faces to lie against one of the belts, mea-ns for'increasing the angle between'the belts -to, substantially 180 whereby ztlu'earl'- ticles willv lie on the belts with their flatifaces down,;and means for-driving the belts." v

5.; A facing machine for articles having a substantially fiat face and.`having.receding edgeportions, including apair of driven belts having one-edge of each adjacent/the. other, and guidevmeans 'for said belts disposedto causer .opposed unit surfaces ofthe belts: to assumeV a! decreasing angle including an acute angle, and subsequently to assumel an increasing angle, with respectrto eachother as.- the belts. are driven; certain of said guide means being adjustable to vary the angle ofzthebelt surfaces. as they pass thereover,said belts beingf adapted :when they aire' at a minimum anglev to.. grip lthe edges of varticles*'carried therebyl to tilt and face such articles as are carried: flat face upward on either of said belts. v v 3 v6'. A faein'g'machine for articles having a substantially flat face and havingreced-ingedge portions, including .a pair of driven beltsv having one edge of each adjacent the' other, and guide means` for said belts disposed to cause opposed -unit surfacesof each to assumea decreasing angle,and subsequently'zto assume an increasing angle, with respectv to. each other as the belts are driven g at least. certain-of said guide means: comprising adjustably-mounted rollers to.V vary the angleof the belt surfaces-as they pass there over, whereby said belts willrgripe the edges of articlesv carried thereby 'to tilt and face such articles as are carried i'at face upward on either of said belts. f A facing machine includingv adeck,apair of belts, arranged with their upper trav-1 erse substantially parallel to and .above the deckpwiththeir inner edges substantially in contact andwith the beginning-of theirV upper: trave-rse;substantially in the planeo-f the deck, means for driving said belts-and means forv guidi-ng said: belts during saidupper traverse in such a. path thatv opposedlv areas thereof are gradually disposed at an increaslng angle with respect'to the planey of the deck until the angle, betweenwthe belts becomes, sufliciently acute that one belt wilt exertpressure at the edge of y,an articlebei-ng faced and the otherv belt willa exert pressure on the article inwardfrom the edge, and mea-ns for causing said belts gradually again to7 assume a positionfsubstantially .parallel tothe deck.. y

A vfacing machine flat facer having, in combination, endless conveyorimeans; sullastantiallyfiat. at each end of for: articles having af its active run, means for driving the conveyor, means for supplying the articles to be faced to one end of the conveyor, means interme'diate'the ends of the conveyor for l causing the sides of the conveyor to be progressively tilted toward each other to form an acute angle, and means for adjusting the tilting means so that atfthe point of greatest tiltvthe 'lower edges of the articlesy will be gripped by the conveyor and theirliat faces turned into engagement with the conveyor.

- 9. A machine for facing articles having a flat face and receding-edge portions, comprising,a in: combination, endless conveyor means adapted to receive promiscuously disposedarticle on its upper traverseand to move said articles therewith along itsupper traverse,` and means to cause the sides of said conveyor to assume along its upper traverse a gradually decreasing angle which at its mlnimum is sufficiently acute so that the sides of the conveyor `adjacent the vertex of the angle will grip the articles at points on opposite sides thereof so as to swing from one side -of the conveyor to its other side such articles as are carried flat face upward on either of its sides.

10.` A machine for facing articles having a fiaty face and receding-edge portions, comprising, in combination, endless conveyor means adaptedto receive promiscuously dis-v posed articles on its upper traverse and to move said articles therewith along its upper traverse, and means to cause the sides of said conveyor to assume along its upper traverse a gradually vdecreasing angle which at its minimum is sufliciently acute so that the sides of the conveyor adjacent the vertex of the angle will grip the articles at points in different planes on opposite sides thereof so as to swing from one side of the conveyor to its other side such articles as: are carried flat face upward on either of its sides, and means to adjust the last mentioned means to varying acute angle positions for the convenient facing of articles of dierent size.

l1. A machine for facing articles having a `flat face and receding-edge portions, comrprismg, in combination, endless conveyor means adapted to receive promiscuously disposed articles ony its upper traverse and to move said articles therewith along its upper traverse, means to cause the sides of said con veyor to assume along its upper traverse a gradually decreasing angle which at its minimum is suliiciently acute so that the sides of the conveyor adjacent the vertex of the angle will grip the articles at points on opposite sides thereof so as to swing from one side of the conveyor to its other side such articles as are carried flat face upward on either of its sides, means for delivering articlesY to be faced to'said conveyor and means for carrying the faced'articles away from said conveyor. Y

. HARRY A. GREENHOLT. 

